The G minor guitar chord, usually written as “Gm”, is one of the least common minor guitar chords. I always tell my students that although it doesn’t appear too often it’s still a good chord to know because it sounds so cool.

3 easier ways to play a G minor guitar chord (Gm)

Let’s look at 3 easier alternatives that I often recommend to my students.

This first option is a simplified version of the full Gm guitar chord shown above:

Gm (version 2)

This is easier to play than a standard G minor guitar chord, but you will still find it tough to play. Make sure you don’t play strings 5 & 6 when strumming this version of G minor. (String numbers are explained here.)

The Best Easy Versions Of This Chord

That’s still too difficult Mike! Is there an even easier way to play a G minor guitar chord?

Yes! 🙂 This is the version I recommend for my students who are total beginners:

Gm (version 3)

As you can see this is a much easier version the Gm guitar chord than the others! This Gm chord is well suited to people who are very early in their guitar journey.

The only issue with this version of the G minor guitar chord is that it sounds a little thin. That’s the trade off we’re making here; we’re sacrificing the quality of a well-rounded and full G minor for the playability of this simple 3-string version of G minor chord.

Make Barre Chords Easy

Are you tired of trying to learn guitar from YouTube with no structure and poor-quality videos?

As I often tell my students: “If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got”. (That sounds trite, but it’s true.)

To move to the next stage of your guitar journey you need to try something new.

Here’s 2 new things you can try NOW:

1) Join our email list and get our 7 best guitar lessons sent straight to your inbox today. (We will never send you spam & you can unsubscribe in 1-click.)

2) Spend some money on your guitar education. The best stuff isn’t free. You have to pay for it. Do you want to learn or not?

I always recommend JamPlay to my students and I do this for 2 reasons:

Their lessons are fantastic. They have great teachers who communicate clearly. Their videos film each hand separately which I love.

The second reason I recommend JamPlay is they offer a 7-day money-back guarantee, so you can check it out and get your money back immediately if it’s not for you. I like that kind of freedom & it makes them easy to recommend: Check out JamPlay here

Download a free beginner chord guide and learn easy versions of every chord

✓ Say goodbye to frustration and twisted fingers. Say hello to MAKING MUSIC.

Are there any other simple ways to play a G minor guitar chord?

This 2-finger version of the Gm chord gives us much more ‘low end’:

Be sure to skip strings 1 & 2 when playing this chord or it won’t sound right (as it will no longer be a Gm chord if you play them). This version of the Gm guitar chord gives us a deeper and more melancholy tone and is a handy one to have in your locker. (But honestly, most of the time you’ll be better using the previous version.)

“These easy versions don’t sound great Mike…”

Playing stripped-down versions of guitar chords inevitably affects the quality of the sound, but that’s the trade off for using simpler chords.

Think of these easy versions of the G minor guitar chord as stepping stones; chords you’ll play while you develop as a guitarist and improve your finger-control and dexterity to the point where you can play the full version of G minor guitar chord.

You need to decide which one of these easier chords works best for the piece of music you are playing and also suits your current ability level. They will all do the job, so take your pick and enjoy playing these different G minor guitar chords. You’ll be rocking away like a madman in no time at all! 🙂

A useful tip for all difficult barre chords

You can use a capo to make a difficult piece of music easy. For example, if you put a capo on the 3rd fret and play an Em chord, the sound that comes out of the guitar will be Gm. Give it a try!

The capo simply does the job your finger is doing when you barre strings. It’s raising the key of the guitar which means you can play different (and easier) chords shapes to get the same result. Don’t be afraid of experimenting with a capo, it’s a beginner guitarist’s best friend!

Find Out What You Should Learn Next With Our Guitar Map

If you want to understand where you’re up to in your guitar journey you should take a look at our Guitar Map.
It will show you what you ‘should’ know by now (and also what you need to learn next to move forward as a guitarist).

Most people find that the Guitar Map shows them how everything fits together and best of all, it will help you identify gaps in your knowledge that are holding you back.

(There is often just one piece of information that holds people back, 1 key insight that they need to know so they can continue moving forward and improving in their guitar journey.)

I made the Guitar Map so people like you can quickly identify what you don’t know, that you need to know next. I hope that makes sense!?